Praise the Lord, I now have $6,196 raised toward my goal! I am incredibly grateful to all who have believed and all who continue to believe in the Lord's vision for my life. I could not do it without your partnership with the Lord, and I am so humbled with His blessings. If you feel it on your heart to help make this act of faith possible, direct donations to me personally, whether via Venmo (shananz), Zelle (bank transfer), check, or other method are most helpful, but for tax-deductible donations, you're still all good to donate via my blog!

So… Drumroll please… 

If you haven't seen it yet, I am officially in Guatemala! 

Getting here has been a long journey, and it's truly the fulfillment of God's promises and faithfulness that He has spoken over me. There were times when I felt like giving up because there were too many unknowns, but I'm so glad that the Lord gave me the strength to keep persevering and clinging to His words. 

My time here is a continuation of holding onto His promises, and of trusting what He's told me. I am so grateful for the confidence God has given me that I am right where I'm supposed to be, in this exact moment. 

I still don't have a lot of details, but what I do know is this:

His Word is always true.

And as far as practical details go, I am here, getting to join in and learn from the staff in Guatemala who are living out a life of long-term missions. I get to participate in classes on relevant topics related to missions, join in on ministry opportunities, practice language learning, and as I pray into more specifics, I'll have the freedom to influence or choose what other areas I want to pursue or invest in. 

Part of the vision that I'm beginning to see over this time is that there is no rush to have it all figured out. A few months ago, when I was praying over this space, I felt the Lord tell me this season would be a gift. I get the sense that there is so much grace for discovery, exploration, and rest. I know I have the whole rest of my life to live. Even as I'm writing this, I feel things come into a little more focus. I believe my time here is going to be a sweet space to learn more about myself, more about the passions and purpose God has given me, and more about the practical details of the life I'm only beginning to sense that God is calling me towards. 

All the while, I'm keeping my heart open to whatever (truly, whatever) the Lord wants to highlight to me or the direction He wants to lead me into. Taking this somewhat big step of faith feels like a catapult into a no-holds-barred type of everyday faith. Whatever He wants for me, that's what I want. 

And what a blessing it is to be on this journey with my Father, whose heart is full of kindness toward me. 

Lord, move how you want to move, do what you want to do. 

I'd love to challenge you to take a look at your own heart. Is there anything holding you back from complete trust in the Father? Is it a fear of your own inadequacy? Is it a mistrust of His heart for you? Whatever it is, I pray you can feel so much comfort in bringing those things to the Lord and looking at scripture to see the truth He wants to reveal to you. Because He is so worthy of our trust.